Children learning to read and write
Over the last few months there have been many changed proposals in the way junior schools all over England are going to be changing how they teach the over 5’s to read and write. This is because the children are finding it harder and harder to learn to read English. But I blame this on the parents. When I was being taught to read and write, it was my parent’s job to make sure that I did so, they made sure that I did everything I could to learn to read, especially with my developing dyslexia.
My parents used many methods to teach me to read and write, from the basics of us both reading a bed time story, starting with them reading it to me, then we read it together, then I read it to them with help on the longer and more difficult words. So from this method alone, by the time it came to school I was able to understand the basics of writing and was able to read children’s books.
But it was not simply me reading books with my parent’s help that enabled me to read, it was my parents making me do so. I hated learning to read, I wasn’t good at it straight away and always wanted to give up. But my parents did let me, they didn’t assume it was the local school’s job to make me read and write, but made sure everything I did and said, I could understand and spell.
Were ever we went, my mother would make me read signs, any words I couldn’t read straight away, she showed me how to work them out my saying each letter in my head and thinking about the sound.
When I was learning the alphabet my parents bought different flick cards and posters for me so that I could think about what each letter sounded like and what word it fitted with (q=queen etc…)
And so my message is, to all parents who are reading this, or people who, one day may be parents, don’t expect your local state school to do everything with your child’s education, you excepted the responsibility of having children, so except that you need to help your child learn from the time it is old enough. Even if they don’t like it now they will thank you for the help latter on in there lives.